The Vagabonds 1896

Camille Pissarro created “The Vagabonds” using graphite on paper. The somber composition depicts a family of three walking along a country path. Sparse graphite strokes are used to create a range of texture and tone. The figures’ stooped postures and weighty burdens create a narrative of hardship. A semiotic approach reveals how the artist’s use of line, tone, and perspective function within a system of visual signs to communicate the vagabonds’ socio-economic plight. The composition uses the horizon line to divide the drawing in two. In the upper half, the land recedes to the horizon; in the lower half, a country path rises diagonally from the foreground toward the middle ground. The horizon line acts as a visual barrier, emphasizing the separation between the figures in the foreground and the landscape beyond. Consider how Pissarro has created meaning through the formal structure of this drawing. The formal qualities invite us to interpret the artist's intention and the cultural context in which it was made.